PSYC20055 - Assessment: Child and Adolescent

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit provides you with the opportunity to become familiar with a number of psychometric tools that will enable description, conceptualisation, and prediction of relevant aspects of a young person's functioning, behaviour, and personality. You will explore and apply psychological tests suitable for children and adolescents. In particular, you will learn to perform a number of appropriate standardised psychological tests, including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (5th ed.), across a diverse range of client groups and contexts. This unit also includes a compulsory residential school.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 3 - 2024

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
2. Practical Assessment 40%
3. Written Assessment 40%

This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 85.71% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 70% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Have your say feedback
Feedback
The practical application and report for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) was practical and useful towards the internship
Recommendation
These two assessments will be retained in future offerings of this unit.
Action Taken
Students completed these two assessments in the 2022 offering of the unit.
Source: Student feedback and Have your Say
Feedback
More access to the WISC-IV is needed to enhance learning
Recommendation
Access to the online Q-Interactive platform will be offered earlier in the term for students.
Action Taken
Students had access to the online Q-interactive and Q-global platforms from Week 1 in the term. Students were also granted extensive practice time with the WISC-IV assessment in Term 1 Residential School.
Source: Have your say
Feedback
The unit coordinator was flexible in his ordering of the lectures, as a results of students' requests and to aid students in their assessments. However, this changed the logical order in the assessment unit.
Recommendation
The sequence of lectures will be maintained in the next offering, so that the teaching uses a spiral curriculum, enhancing the learning opportunities for students.
Action Taken
The sequence of lectures in 2022 was maintained throughout the term to accommodate the spiraled curriculum designed for this unit.
Source: SUTE Unit comments
Feedback
Students requested more hands-on experience with a broader range of assessment tools.
Recommendation
A video will be added to the Moodle page in the 2023 iteration of the unit to aid students with use of the online Q-interactive tool. This will support their individual learning and support broader usage of the available assessment tools.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE unit comments and students' feedback
Feedback
Students reported difficulties completing the assessment report due to its size and scope.
Recommendation
In the next iteration of this unit, the report writing assessment will be divided into separate assessments (chapters) to build upon each previous submission and scaffold student learning.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Interpret psychological assessment results and synthesise with cognitive and practical understanding of psychological assessment and formulation across diverse contexts for children and adolescents
  2. Communicate high level, independent judgements, test interpretation, and formulation in regard to psychological assessment targeting children and adolescents
  3. Demonstrate knowledge and familiarity with the use and purpose of various psychological tests.

Learning outcomes are drawn from specifications for study at level 9 as indicated by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), program of study criteria as stated by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsychBA), and the following core competencies stated by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC):

  • 3.2 Apply evidence-based and scientific methods to professional practice across the lifespan in empirically valid and culturally responsive ways,
  • 3.4 Perform appropriate standardised psychological testing, as part of broader assessment, to assess and interpret aspects of functioning,
  • 3.5 Identify psychological disorders using a recognised taxonomy,
  • 3.6 Conduct professional interviews and assessments and synthesise information from multiple sources, including assessment of risk, to formulate a conceptualisation of the presenting issues to determine the most appropriate interventions, including management of risk, and
  • 3.8 Interpret and communicate findings in oral and written formats, including formal psychological reports, using culturally appropriate language (APAC, 2019, p.13-14)

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Online Quiz(zes) •
2 - Practical Assessment • •
3 - Written Assessment • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Knowledge • • •
2 - Communication • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • •
4 - Research • •
5 - Self-management • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • •
7 - Leadership • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8